Epilepsy - World Health Organization

There is considerable evidence that the global
burden of mental and neurological disorders is massive
and is increasing. At the same time, little is known about
the resources available to meet this burden: information
is scarce in the vast majority of countries, while the information
that is available is not comparable across different
countries or over time. Accurate and up-to-date information
is required on the available resources for these disorders and
their distribution in various regions of the world.
In order to try and fill this knowledge gap, the World Health
Organization (WHO) launched Project Atlas. The objectives
of the project include collection, compilation and dissemination
of relevant information about resources for mental
and neurological conditions in countries. The first document
in this series was published in 2001 as the Atlas of
mental health resources in the world, followed by the Atlas
of country resources for neurological disorders in 2004.
Among other findings, epilepsy was confirmed as one of the
major brain disorders worldwide. Epilepsy presents a global
problem affecting all ages, social classes, groups and countries.
It imposes enormous physical, psychological, social
and economic burdens on individuals, families and countries.
Many people with epilepsy suffer in silence, afraid to
be found out. These problems are universal but cause the
most serious impact in the developing world. This is most
unfortunate since epilepsy provides the clearest example
of a neurological disorder for which effective and cost-efficient
treatment is available, and some 70% of people with
epilepsy could lead normal lives if properly diagnosed and
treated.
In order to map the resources available for epilepsy care,
WHO decided to produce an Atlas on country resources
for epilepsy, within the framework of the Global Campaign
Against Epilepsy. The Global Campaign Against Epilepsy
Mrs Hanneke M. de Boer
Co-Chair
ILAE/IBE/WHO Global Campaign
Against Epilepsy
Dr Leonid L. Prilipko
Programme Leader
Neurological Diseases and
Neuroscience
Department of Mental Health and
Substance Abuse
World Health Organization
PREFACE
– whose theme is “Out of the Shadows” – is a partnership
of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE),
with member organizations in more than 90 countries, the
International Bureau for Epilepsy (IBE), with over 80 full
members and 30 associate members, and WHO, a specialized
agency of the United Nations with 192 Member States.
ILAE member organizations consist of professionals concerned
with medical and scientific aspects of epilepsy, while
those of IBE are concerned with social aspects and the quality
of life of people with epilepsy.
To gather information for this Atlas, a questionnaire was
developed by a number of experts, covering the profile of
epilepsy resources available in countries. The work started
in 2002 and data have been collected from 160 countries,
spanning all WHO regions and covering 97.5% of the
world population, making this a global exercise. We are not
aware of any other exercise in the field of epilepsy that can
compare with the present one for its coverage and comprehensive
nature.
The data confirm what professionals in the field of epilepsy
have known for a long time, that epilepsy care is grossly
inadequate compared with the needs in most countries:
“when it comes to epilepsy care, most countries are developing
countries”. The value of the Atlas is that it replaces
impressions and opinions by facts and figures. In following
uniform definitions and units, it allows for comparisons to
be made across countries and regions.
We hope that the realities uncovered by the Atlas will motivate
governments and health-care providers to improve epilepsy
care. The picture is clear and the goal is within reach:
to bring epilepsy out of the shadows.
Dr Shekhar Saxena
Coordinator
Mental Health: Evidence and
Research
Department of Mental Health
and Substance Abuse
World Health Organization
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